The Summoner
by The Incapable Hero
Summary: If you asked, they would say it was no big deal, but surviving in another world with strange people and strange magic was probably one of the hardest things Kiran had ever done. Rated T because things might get graphic.
1. Chapter 1

Honestly, I wasn't sure how it happened. One moment I was enjoying my weekend away from people, and the next I was commanding an army. Despite my insistence that I couldn't command an army or act as the Legendary Summoner I supposedly was, the commander, prince, and princess were quick to accept me as the tactician. Now, I sit inside the room they had provided, snuggling inside the white robe they gave me. I couldn't sleep. One of the heroes had warned me that the nights were cold, but I didn't think that it would have been this bad. Even in other worlds, I still get cold easily. I couldn't help but wish for a fireplace as another shiver ran down my spine. I pulled the robe tighter around me. I somehow found comfort in this strange place with the cotton robe of pure white and gold trim. It was warm, and the sleeves were long and loose. I was wearing my t-shirt that I had appeared in, it being some time before the sun rose and I recieved my new clothes. I had told them I liked loose clothing, but the royals insisted on getting my exact measurements. "For now" they had said "you can wear this to blend in better." The hood of the robe covered my face, making it hard to tell my age, expression, even gender. Perhaps that's why I found the robe so comforting; there wasn't anything to judge. I could hide in plain sight. I shivered yet again, but the robe was already pulled in as close as I could get it. Oh what I wouldn't give for a radiator.


	2. Chapter 2

Another day had passed, one out of maybe hundreds more. Nobody knew. All I wanted was to go home, but I didn't have that luxury anymore. I had only slept a few hours, but the frigid air made it hard to fall back asleep. My existing insomnia didn't really help either. Finally, I decided enough was enough. There was one room in the castle I knew had a fireplace that was nearly always lit, even at night. I got up, my robe still over the clothes I had brought from home. I opened my door, and made sure it closed quietly. After all, I knew that Alfonse's room was right across from mine. I wore my socks rather than the boots they had given me just to be sure. Overall, getting around the castle was hard, and going anywhere that wasn't the main hall, the library or my room proved to be a challenge. I hadn't been inside the library yet, only seen the doors, but I was told to go there if I was ever cold or bored. Finally, after somewhat sliding down the tiled halls in my socks, I came to the extravagant doors of the library. While they were large, I still hoped they would be quiet as to not wake anyone. I placed my hand on the handle and pushed the door slowly forward. Thankfully, it hardly made any noise. Immediately, I noticed the temperature difference. Closing the door behind me, I stepped closer to the lit fireplace. To be completely honest, I had no idea how they kept it lit, but after an entire day of being in this strange new place, I had decided to chalk it up to magic. The warmth was inviting, and the comfort was in great contrast to the freezing night. The fire had warmed my robe and deciding that I wasn't content with just sitting, I stood to browse the library. I hadn't seen before, but the entire place was incredible. Books lined every wall and every wall was more grand than any local library I had ever been to. I stepped closer to the start of the very first wall of the "A" section. The very first book, _Abandoned Cultures._ I took the book back over to the fireplace and turned to the first page.


	3. Chapter 3

The main hall was beginning to get more lively. Beruka was off on her own, but Sharena, Lyn, and Shigure had made it a point to talk nearly every time we prepared to depart. Alfonse was in the hall as well, but he never made any effort for small talk. In fact, whenever Sharena brought a hero to talk to him, he always brushed them away, turning any light-hearted conversation into talk of war. Despite the fact that I wasn't much better, I still thought it was a bit of a let-down. He might not ignore me though, after all, I've somehow managed to crack a smile out of him with my constant sarcastic remarks. Taking a deep breath, I stroll up to the Askran prince and ready myself for confrontation. Being tired made it a bit easier for me to not overthink things, which was good because I had only been getting around three hours of sleep for the past few nights, taking up my time by the fire and choosing to read.

"Excuse me, your highness?" I realized as soon as I said it that I was being too formal with him. I had gotten that habit from back home.

"Yes, Summoner? What can I do for you?" He sounded way too formal too. Only a few seconds in and I was already uncomfortable.

"U-uh, I was just wondering, well…" Darn. Why can't I just talk normally?! I cleared my throat.

"I was just wondering why you don't talk to the other heroes..." He looked down and I was immediately glad that I had kept my hood on, otherwise he might have seen the flash of concern and guilt on my face.

"Well the truth is, I don't like to get close to anyone, especially heroes. It's easier that way when you know there's a chance they won't come back." I… wasn't sure what to say. I was expecting some sort of answer having to do with past experiences, but nothing this deep. Besides, why would he open up so quickly to me? He just said he didn't like getting close to people. That was another strange thing that had happened; people here seemed to want to trust me, almost instantaneously. Unfortunately, my hood can only hide so much, as my surprised silence didn't go unnoticed by the prince.

"I apologize for that, it was out of place. So what are your plans for today, Summoner?" I couldn't help but feel disappointed. I had gotten so close to having him open up, but then again, he might not have, even if I didn't go silent. After all, he still refused to call me by my name.

"Oh, just to take the team to the training tower. Nothing much…"

"I see. Well good luck Summoner." I stood still as I observed the ornate details of the back of his armor.


	4. Chapter 4

"No, I'm pretty sure that the royal family invented those weapons."

"Well I am certain that it was invented by the village committee."

Sharena and Lyn were arguing over something. From the looks of it, the invention of a series of swords. Usually I would have stayed out of these kinds of conversations as I hardly knew anything about this world. However, I had studied up on this particular topic during one of my nightly reading sessions by the fire. Weeks had passed and as the nights got colder, I spent more and more time in the library.

"If I may, those weapons were made much earlier than what you two are thinking. They were made for a several day war as swords that were tough, yet easy to make by the Meshindi tribe. They were made for the specific purpose of defeating large numbers of people a they broke frequently, but were very sharp, easy to make, and easy to repair with makeshift materials." The girls looked at me, wide-eyed.

"Well, I suppose that settles it. We were both incorrect." Lyn spoke up first.

"I guess so. Actually, Summoner, How did you know that? Even I didn't know that and I had to take lessons on that kind of stuff."I guess Sharena had a right to be confused. After all, it's not like they knew about my nightly sessions.

"Well, you see…" I didn't want them to think I was complaining. After all, if it weren't for them, I probably wouldn't even have a bed to sleep in.

"Whenever it gets chilly during the night, I like to spend a little time in the library. That was one of the first topics I came across." Shareena raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's nice that you like to read and all, but try not to end up like Alfonse and study your emotions into submission, okay?" She let out a lighthearted giggle. I smiled, slightly proud at my ability to be just vague enough to avoid any unwanted questions. After all, several heroes I know would gladly throw themselves into battle twice round if they thought it meant I could get some rest.


	5. Chapter 5

More time had passed and the middle of winter was upon us. It had become nearly impossible for me to get sleep, and even the library had a slight chill to it. Of course that meant when it came time for me to make my way to the battlefield, I was a bit worse for wear. Now that the day wasn't even warm, it was hard for me to get in any midday naps as well. I knew that the heroes would take notice at some point, but I honestly didn't think it would take them as long as it did. I honestly didn't tell them because I genuinely thought that there was nothing that could be done. None of the extra bedrooms had fireplaces and extra sheets piled on top of me were always so suffocating and the nights I tried to sleep like that were plagued by nightmares. So it was a terrible combination of those problems that caused my current predicament. One of the enemy knights had managed to grab me without me noticing. Not only that, but my exhaustion put me in no condition to fight. After so much time spent in this world I had gotten quite skilled in the art of dodging blows, but trying to fight a war with having only slept as much as I have, I moved too late. He had been aiming for my head, and luckily, I had managed to lean back far enough so that I wasn't decapitated. However, I never said anything about coming out of this unscathed. A sharp pain pierced my left eye, and I yelled out. I opened my right eye just in time to see him raide the sword for a second blow. Time seemed to slow down as the sword moved closer to me, and in that moment, I realized how unreasonable I had been. This place had magic, heroes, I lived with a prince and princess, and somehow I had gotten it into my head that they wouldn't be able to help me with a little cold. I had gotten so used to keeping my problems from showing and not telling the people who cared for me that I had neglected my own health, and in maybe a second, my life. I realized what a bad state I was in, my left eye stung from the blow, while my right was blurred with sleep loss. My throat ached from a recent cold and my head pounded from the fever I never told them about. I was going to die because of my own stupidity. I closed my eye, waiting for the finishing blow, but it never came. I felt the arm holding me up give way and I fell to the ground. The cold became less apparent as the world faded away from me, and the last thing I heard until welcoming the embrace of unconsciousness, was the chorus of familiar voices shouting a word even more familiar.

"Kiran!"


	6. Chapter 6

The first thing I felt when I came to… cold. It was cold again. I suppose that meant I should make my way to the library. I tried to open my eyes, but only one would cooperate. Why was that? I worked with what I had though. I observed the inside of the room I was in, and the first thing I noticed was that it was not, in fact, my own room. It looked more like an infirmary if anything else. Then the memories came flooding back. The knight, the sword... my eye. That was probably why I couldn't open it. But did that mean I wasn't going to see through it again. A feeling of dread settled itself in my stomach. My thoughts, however, were interrupted by someone calling for me.

"Summoner! You're awake!" I sat up and fixed my eyes on the relieved face of Prince Alfonse. His expression shifted to one of frustration only moments later.

"Eh, heh, I messed up, didn't I?" I couldn't make eye contact with him, but I couldn't avoid his stare.

"Shall I go over the medical report, Summoner?" I simply stayed quiet. Alfonse picked up a sheet of paper and started listing off details.

"These first few were expected,'Injured eye, scarring on face, and temporary blindness.' These next few were not,'Delayed thought processes, infected throat, a high fever, and finally a three day coma, induced by severe sleep deprivation.'" He put the paper down and stepped up to me, my eye still fixed on the floor.

"Summoner, how could you have possibly let your health get so bad?" To me this was no time to be chewing me out, after all, according to him, I had just emerged from a three day coma. Even so I had to give an answer. And if there was something i didn't do, it was lie. I might be vague to avoid giving information, but if you ask enough questions, you can get anything out of me.

"I was being unreasonable. I let things get out of hand. What happened was my fault. I was hurt because of my own mistakes. I don't doubt that some of the heroes were hurt because of my mistakes. I caused you all to worry, and I am the only one to blame." Whatever response he was expecting, it wasn't that one. He took a small step back and the room went silent.

"Summoner…" That's what I was, wasn't it. The Summoner. That's all. I had only heard my name called out by the heroes once, and that was when they were fearing for my life because of my mistakes. I didn't deserve to be called my name, I didn't deserve to be treasured by these people. Only as a tool, never a friend. I took a small breath and raised my chin.

"Prince Alfonse." He said nothing, only looked at me with concern.

"I will care for myself more. But please, don't feel concerned because a life could have been lost. Only be frustrated that you could have lost The Summoner." He went silent, and both of us stayed like that for quite a while, with his expression of very mixed emotions and me string directly into his eyes.

"...No." It was one word, but it sent my stomach plummeting. He was making this harder that it was supposed to be.

"What do you mean? Wasn't this what you had been trying to do? Not getting attached to anyone?" His expression firmed, and it was that face that made me realize we had done something very strange indeed. We managed to change each other's minds about the same topic at the exact same time.

"Summoner, I would like you to know that right now, as I hear you say that, I realize I was wrong. Getting attached to heroes, to your family, it gives you that much more drive to keep them happy. People aren't expendable. I am concerned that we could have lost a life. And less frustrated that we could have lost The Summoner. I care about you, and denying that won't help anything. It might be painful to lose those you care about, but avoiding that pain is like saying I intend to let you die. And my wholehearted intention is to win this war so that you can live out the rest of your peaceful life back home, Kiran." Those words had single handedly shattered my heart into pieces. I tried to hold back the tears, but my tired, half-blinded self couldn't do much to stop them. My body shook with heavy sobs, and Alfonse moved to my side to wrap his arms around me.

"I'm so sorry for making you feel worthless, it was never my intent." His voice did not waver, but I felt a drop of water fall onto my head.

"...I-I know." My voice was cracking. Darn, I'll have to ask him how he keeps his composure like he does. But for now, I sat in his embrace, not wanting to say any more.


	7. Chapter 7

"Alright, Summoner! Let's get started!" I jumped at the sudden noise and turned to face the cheerful voice behind me. Princess Sharena had somehow snuck up behind me and seemingly shouted right by my head.

"Agh! Sh-sharena! What are you talking about?" She giggled at my jumpiness and grabbed my hand.

"We're going to fix that sleeping problem of yours!" Oh. I see. Well at least she has good intentions. I let out an amused chuckle before picking up my pace so that she wasn't dragging me across the halls.

"Alright, Sharena. Lead the way." We practically ran down the hall and along the way, I waved at the confused heroes, Sharena towing me along all the while, until we finally arrived at the wooden doors of my room.

"Okay, so what's the problem? Nightmares? Bed's too creaky? Mysterious noises in the night?" Okay, right to the point.

"Well, to tell you the truth, it's just too cold for me at night. That's why I spend so much time in the library." She paused. I seemed to be making people do that a lot recently.

"That's it?" She raised a brow, appearing as if she didn't believe me. I nodded.

"Well that's easy to fix! All we need to do is move you to a room with a fireplace! I't not like you have any stuff to move so that'll be easy!" Just as she started to walk away, I grabbed her shoulder,

"Wait, I thought you didn't have any rooms with fireplaces." After all, that was what the servant had told me. She suddenly looked confused as she turned back in my direction.

"We have tons of rooms with fireplaces… oh no. Did the servants seriously tell you that? They started doing that so they wouldn't have to clean the fireplaces. I'm so sorry! We'll have a talk with them abou that. Come on! Let's move your stuff!" She swung the door to my room open and took a look at what was inside. I hadn't really thought about the condition of my room up until now, but looking at it with Sharena by me and searching for my things, I realized just how baren it really was. Sharena made her way to a bedside table and grabbed a box full of dried fruit that I always kept nearby.

"Summoner! Catch!" She threw the box my way, but despite my usual skill in catching and dodging, the box hit me square in the chest and clattered to the ground. Luckily, the box had a small latch that kept the contents from spilling out, but that didn't dismiss how embarrassed I felt for not catching something so easy to spot. Then I remembered the bandages covering my left eye. They were still there for the time being, and that meant my sense of depth was severely out of whack.

"Eh heh, sorry about that…" I bent down to pick up the box, silently cringing to myself. Sharena giggled.

"It's fine! I kinda forgot about the eye thing." How could she forget about the bandages covering half of my face? Then again, I was still wearing my hood and I had forgotten about them myself. Opening the box, I pulled out a small piece of dried fruit and offered it to Sharena. With one of the brightest smiles I've ever seen, she took it.

"Thanks, Kiran!" It felt nice to be called by my name.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Hey guys! So first off, thanks for reading, and second, I have one more chapter in the waiting, but I'm kinda running out of ideas. If you have any suggestions, let me know. Otherwise, I might take a little time to think (not long, don't worry) before I have another chapter out. For now, enjoy and chapter 8 will be up soon :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Looking at my new room, I understood why the servants were so reluctant to clean it. The entire room had wooden floors rather than the stone ones I had previously had, there were curtains draped over the one large window and there was a ledge on it that looked big enough to sit on. My bed was nothing to scoff at either. A new addition that had not been in my previous room was a medium-sized closet for what few clothes I owned. There was a definite upgrade from the screechy metal frame of my previous room. The bed had a stable wooden frame and was significantly larger than the other bed. My bedside table had been retained, but several other shelves lined the wall opposite of the bed. On that same wall though, was the one thing I had really been looking for. An ornate fireplace sat on the inside of the wall, a warm blaze already flickering inside. I looked over to Sharena, who gave me a proud grin.

"Sorry it took so long, I was the one who decorated it!" I gave her the best smile I could muster without causing any additional pain to my eye.

"I really appreciate it. Thanks, Sharena." She nodded and gave a lighthearted chuckle. Stepping over to the bedside table, I placed the box of dried fruit in the center and turned back to Sharena.

"This will be perfect, thanks again." Her smile brightened at my words, but didn't respond. She suddenly looked away with a thoughtful look. I would have expected her to have left by now, or at least said something. But we simply stood in silence for a very uncomfortable amount of time.

"So… uh…" I didn't really know what to say. What could I say? Sharena was about to say something, but she was interrupted by a grandfather clock also present in the room striking six in the evening.

"Oh! Kiran! I need you to come with me!"

"Woah, what? What are you talking abou- ahh!" She grabbed my hand and dragged me down the halls yet again. This time, I had no confused heroes to wave to. I thought that perhaps they had gone to eat before going to bed.

"Uh… Sharena? Where are we going?"

"The main hall, silly! We need to show you one more thing!" This was getting more confusing by the second. We stopped at the corner we would have rounded to enter the main hall, causing me to almost come crashing into the Askran Princess.

"Gah! Sharena what-" She turned around and shushed me. She quickly turned to bend around the corner before swiveling back to face me.

"Come on!" She grabbed my hand again and pulled me into the main hall. I expected the normal sight, a few heroes chatting in the hall, Feh on its perch, and maybe a messenger from a nearby friend. But what I saw was completely different. All the heroes that I had summoned after all this time had all gathered in the main hall and were looking intently at me.

"Ta da! We wanted to make you feel a little better, so we all decided to surprize you! We each got you a little something too! You know, to fill up all that empty space in your room." I saw all of them look at me smiling, and looking at them all being so cheerful despite the war we were in. It was so nice. This moment when everyone was together. I felt so warm and needed and loved, it was almost overwhelming.

"Ah! Kiran! Are you okay?! Why are you crying?" Nino asked from the crowd. I blinked once before bringing my currently ungloved hand to my good eye and sure enough, it came back wet. I wiped the tears from my eye and gave a small chuckle.

"Everything's fine, I'm just really happy, that's all." I sniffed a couple times before I gained my composure again.

"Thanks everyone, it really means a lot to me."


	9. Chapter 9

"Okay, it looks like it's that time, Kiran." Lucius was beside me, and the nurse beside him. For what seemed like forever, the bandages had been covering my left eye, making me much less functional than before, and even less able to aim Breidablik. Today though, was the day I could finally get these terrible bandages off my face for good. Of course, it's not like they haven't been off before. But if they came off, it was only to get clean ones and even in that case, they went right back on. But now, I could finally rid my eye of that terrible reminder of my mistakes. When the nurse finally removed the bandages, it took some time for me to get used to seeing with both eyes again. Even so, it just felt so much better.

"Thanks! This'll make things so much easier."

"Well that's good, we need our tactician after all." I turned my head to the intruding voice, spotting Alfonse at the door of the infirmary.

"Yeah, things need to get going soon, otherwise we'll be behind." He walked closer as I spoke, a small, hardly noticeable smirk across his face.

"What's so funny?" I said this with a humored look of my own, but I was genuinely surprised. To this day, I don't think I've ever seen him laugh.

"Oh, nothing." he looked away.

"I just think that another good thing from those bandages coming off is that Anna won't have to deal with your aim while you try not to hit her in the face…" he mumbled under his breath. I looked at the prince, shocked.

"Did… did you just…" he looked at me, and raised a brow, the smirk disappearing from his face.

"What?"

"Did you just give me a backhanded insult?" his expression was priceless. I couldn't tell if he was paling or reddening, but whatever it was, he turned away fast.

"Uh, n-no. Of course not. I-I just stated a fact." I burst out laughing, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the nurse and Lucius were both looking at the prince with shock written clear on their faces. I could see Alfonse visibly tense at my laughter. His face was definitely red. Calming down, I sat up and looked at the back of Alfonse's head.

"Heh, it's fine. I'm just glad you feel comfortable enough around me to do that!" He turned his head so that I could see one of his eyes, the red on his face plain as day. I let out another chuckle.


	10. Chapter 10

I woke to something rather unusual: a knock at my door. It must really be urgent, as when I looked at the edges of my new window, and was surprised to see no sunlight streaming from the side of the drapes. Reluctantly, I stood and went to the door, not even bothering to dress in my hood and opened it.

"Eh, whaddya want?" I could hardly see in front of me, but if they really needed me this late… early?... then I had no choice but to help them. Before they could answer, however, my tiredness had somehow gotten the best of me and as my vision blurred, the room grew from dark to black. As I drifted from consciousness, my last thought was that even though I had stopped falling, I never felt the ground hit./span/p


	11. Chapter 11

My mind felt foggy. Not like the kind of foggy when you wake up from a long nap. I mean the kind of foggy when you take some sleeping medication and you mind still isn't all there when you wake up. That was my first concern. My second concern had to do with my current position, which was sitting up, slouched over with my head leaning against something hard and scratchy. The third concern was why my wrist felt so sore and heavy. My eyes felt glued shut, and my body refused to listen to me. All I could do was feel. After an eternity and a half seemed to pass, I was finally able to shift my body into a position that was mildly more tolerable. I forced my eyes open, but all I could see was a monochromatic blur of different shades of grey. Unfortunately, with my sight came a throbbing headache behind my eyes. Due to the sudden pain, I let out a small groan and tensed my body. I powered through the headache and fought to keep my eyes open, and slowly but surely, the world started to come into focus.

And it was _not_ the world I had grown used to.


	12. Chapter 12

"Well well well, the little summoner is finally awake." That voice, it was not familiar. It was gravelly and unpleasant, but I couldn't choose not to listen as it was so loud it echoed through the stone halls. I couldn't quite make out the person who was talking, but I could see what I assumed was iron bars surrounding a fair portion of the room I was in. I blinked twice before resting my gaze on an armored figure outside the bars.

"What, prisoner? Nothing to say?" Oh, he's just a guard. Nobody important. Either way, I'm still in a cage, which means I have every right to say whatever I want.

"Oh, so you're the one with that terrible voice. Seriously it's like nails on a chalkboard." I could see him visibly start but his shock didn't last long.

"Why you… I don't care who you are, but you better shut your mouth!" Ugh, he got louder.

"I could say the same to you my guy. You really should stop talking. Your voice causes stress." I couldn't help but inwardly smile as I saw him trembling with rage, but to my mild disappointment, he turned around and stayed quiet.

I took a better look around the room, which I had now realized to be a prison cell. Wait, how did I get here anyway? I was just sleeping then…. Oh. Sleeping magic. Got it.

It took me less time than I thought it would for me to come to terms with the fact that right now, nobody could protect me. In fact, it was almost too quick for my liking. Even so, now was not the time to think about that. Right now, figuring out where I was took top priority. But before I could attempt to interrogate the guard for the second time, another person showed up at my cell.

"Looks like our little summoner has woken up." he looked me over, raising a brow.

"I thought the summoner always wore their hood. What happened to that hm?" I finally realized that indeed my white and gold trimmed cloak was nowhere to be seen, and instead, I was still wearing the clothes I usually slept in, that being the T-shirt I came in, but I was wearing some loose pants I borrowed as denim was generally uncomfortable to sleep in.

"Just left it back in the castle. No biggie. You know, I just got kidnapped and it's a little hard to get dressed when you're unconscious, but you know hot it is." The man let out a small huff.

"So, we've got a smart one on our hands huh?" I winked in his direction. I was met with a glare.

"Tell you what, I'll get straight to the point. You can do one of two things: tell us your army's strategies, or act as our fun little hostage for a while." As he said this, the messy works of an idea formed in my head.

"Well I'm obviously not going to tell you anything."

"Then it's settled. The more that order of heroes attacks us, the more we get to torture you." giving me no chance to react, he turned on a heel and left.

"Whoa whoa, what? Hold up, I didn't sign up for _that!"_


	13. Chapter 13

"Ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety nine bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around, ninety eight bottles of beer on the wall! Ninety eight bottles of beer on the wall, ninety eight bottles of beer!" My singing echoed through the hallways. They had to keep me alive, and tortue will come later anyway, so I opted to give them payback by being as annoying as I possibly could. Several guards had walked by my cell and given me very confused looks, with some very threatening glares sent my way too. Among my echoing notes, I heard my own guard muttering something to himself. Something along the lines of it being a long day, and some definitely inappropriate cursing was mixed in with the grumbles.

"Ninety five bottles of beer on the waaaallll!"


	14. Chapter 14

"Seventy bottles of beer on the wall, seventy bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around, sixty nine bottles of beer on the wall!"

"CAN SOMEONE SHUT THEM UP?!"

"You know we can't do anything or else the commander will kill us!"

"They've been singing that same darn song on repeat for TWO HOURS! Something needs to be done!"

"So you want me to sing something else? Okay! This is the song that never ends! Yes it goes on and on my friends!"

"OH SON OF A-" I interrupted them with the beginning of yet another loud, long, and most definitely annoying song.

"OH THE DUCK WALKED UP TO THE LEMONADE STAND…"

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH, I'M GONNA MAKE YOU BE QUIET!" a guard held the other rampaging soldier back, trying desperately to keep him from getting to my cell.

"Agh- No! If we hurt them, the commander's gonna be furious! Stand your ground! Ack!"

"ENOUGH!" A low voice bellowed through the halls, making even me jump and my singing ground to a halt. A man stormed up to my cell and the two guards who had been dealing with me snapped to attention. He turned slowly towards me, a deep glare penetrated my shield of confidence.

"You two, switch out with the guards I positioned outside. I'll take this one to the front lines with me, but we'll be back very soon." With that, the guards gave a salute before marching off down the hall, all the while, the man's gaze never left mine. In the midst of our staring contest, he had unlocked my cell, but before I could respond, he was already in my face, this time he was locking both of my hands in cuffs that I was pretty sure were way too small, but he fit them on anyway.

"Come on Songbird, it's about time we clip your wings. Can't have you decreasing moral, now can we?" For whatever, reason, I couldn't speak as he shoved me out of the cell and into the hallway. I wasn't sure, but as he pushed me through the halls, I could have sworn he twisted my cuffs so that the metal would cut into my skin. My thoughts were confirmed as a small amount of liquid was felt dripping down my fingers.


	15. Chapter 15

I'm not sure why, but when that commander entered the room, it was like he sucked out whatever hope I might have had. His entire attitude was terrifying, and no song that popped into my head would have helped me with the fear that had plunged into my heart. We walked for quite some time, and the tight cuffs were starting to numb my hands. Finally, we reached the exit of the prison. He shoved the door open, not being at all sparing in how he moved about while holding my cuffs, causing me to wince. Not only that, but the light on the other side temporarily blinded me after being in a dark prison for so long. While I couldn't see, I could hear the distinct sound of shouting and fighting in the distance. My stomach dropped. If there was fighting, that meant the Order of Heroes was on the move, most likely looking for me. But what that also meant was…

"Alright Songbird, how about we turn the tables of this little battle." I started to break into a cold sweat, the dread of what was to come was becoming more and more prominent as the commander made his way to the front lines, in perfect view of everyone, careful to keep me close so that he couldn't be attacked without risk of hurting me. As he shoved me forward, I hardly noticed that many of the fights had stopped, and all eyes were on us. Even so, I was snapped back into attention when a shout was heard from the crowd.

"Kiran!" I looked up, locking eyes with the owner of the voice, which was none other than Prince Alfonse. The expression on his face was indescribable, fear was etched into the very depths of his eyes, and dread had stubbornly settled onto his features. I can't recall a time I had ever seen anyone with an expression like that.

"You let them go right. Now." The voice was dangerous, but didn't come from the Prince, rather the blonde princess beside him. Sharena looked different too. I can't say I've ever seen her angry, so her current level of obvious rage was surprising in more ways than one. They had both changed, and they didn't look like the heroes I had grown to love.

"H-how much time…" The words slipped out of my mouth hardly a whisper, but it was all I could manage. The gravelly chuckle of the commander sounded behind me.

"You must not take very good care of yourself. After all, we hardly fed you but you never seemed to notice. It's been quite a while Songbird, but I can't say it was long enough to warrant this barbaric behavior from your friends here. In any case… Order of Heroes! I am warning you now, don't attack any further. We will take this area and you will leave the Summoner in our capable hands." With that, he turned the other direction, but the sound of clanking metal ground us to a halt. I turned my head in the direction of the commander, and saw what I could only think was an arrow stuck in his arm and having pierced through the armor. With all one motion, he pulled out the arrow, reached to his side, grabbed the object there, and swung.


	16. Chapter 16

It took some time for me to realize it, but a scream had filled my lungs. White hot pain seared itself in my own arm, right in the same place where the commander had been shot. The world had begun to blur, but somehow I managed to compose myself and keep standing. As the world came back into view, I saw what I had been struck with, and enchanted blade that seemed to blaze with heat and power was held win the commander's hand. He turned to the army, eyes blazing with as much ferocity as if they themselves were enchanted like the blade he had attacked me with.

"If _any_ of you even think about making another move, your precious summoner will experience more pain than you could ever imagine!" Every world held both conviction and venom, he was threatening us.

"N...no. We don't…. We don't just surrender like that. They should know I'm tough, and I don't care what torture you put... You put me through. We need… we need to win this battle." I looked over to Alfonse and Sharena, their expressions now gone to the same fearful yet caring faces I had seen so many times.

"Go on… you know I've got this." I said all of this in heaving gasps, and honestly, most of those words were for myself. I seriously didn't want to be here, and I would have done almost anything to get out of what I was about to endure, but it was almost like I didn't have a choice. Like there was a mysterious voice somewhere that was telling me this had to happen sooner or later. I would have to feel the scars war left behind for myself. The Askran royals didn't even look a little more confident, but they raised their weapons nonetheless.

"Hmph, well then, it's your choice. Soldiers, attack as you please. Just make sure we aren't interrupted." With that, he picked up a nearby lance and looked me square in the eye, the shouts of battle started to fade into the distance, along with my name being called over and over.

"Remember, Summoner, you brought this on yourself." With nowhere to run and the pain in my arm making itself known, I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for what I assumed would be the end. But I was so very wrong. After I found out for myself though, I might have wished that's what he granted instead.


	17. Chapter 17

All at once, the world seemed to dissolve, replaced by pain. The landscape had blended itself into one color and a strange ringing filled my ears. I couldn't see, I couldn't hear, I couldn't think at all. All I could do was feel the agonizing pain in my head, leg, and arm. A smaller, but still noticeable pain had begun to crawl up my throat, but it hardly came close to everything else. I couldn't move, and I could just barely tell that my breath was not making it to my lungs fast enough, and it wasn't long that they too started to burn and scream for oxygen. It seemed to linger for eternity before anything interrupted. My vision that had blurred to a single hue was now starting to focus, and small noises started to overtake the harsh ringing. Shouts were heard and the occasional clash of a blade sent another wave of pain through my head, but somehow, much of the shocking pain in my arm and leg had started to fade. The final remains of my choked scream died on my tongue, and a soothing coolness washed over my lost voice. Slowly but surely, the pain died away, as did the ringing and blurry horizon. At some point, I had shifted into a position on my back, and in front of me, both Elise and Lissa were standing over me, with Lucius supporting my back and a small bottle of water in his other hand. The light from the girl's staffs cleared away much of the pain. My eyes flicked to the side for a moment, spotting bulky armor of the enemy commander, lying on the ground, and Hinata and Lyn standing over the lifeless form.

They were safe.

I was safe.

Finally, that wicked commander was gone.

They had done it.

And with that, I slipped slowly into unconsciousness, hearing my name being shouted over and over as the world and my pain disappeared.


	18. Chapter 18

I wasn't sure why, but waking up seemed even more of a challenge today. The bed I was in felt so comfortable, and my entire body felt sore which made me want to sleep even more.

"Kiran!" the sound of my name, however, jolted me awake, pulling me away from the haven of sleep. I let out a groan and lifted my hand to my face and wiping the sleep out of my eyes.

"Kiran, I know you're tired, but you must wake up."I recognized the sound of Azura's voice, but that didn't make me any happier about having to wake up. With both of my hands now on my face, I let out a series of incomprehensible groans and mumbles.

"Kiran, you know we can't understand you, right?"

"I think they're trying to say something about wanting five more minutes." That was Lissa, I just know it. Azura let out a sigh.

"Kiran, we don't have five minutes. You need to eat something." My hands slid back down to the sheets, my eyes opening as they did. Azura, Lissa, and Felicia all either sat or stood by my bed, Felicia held a small tray of food in her hands, concentrating hard on keeping her footing. Slightly cringing as I sat up, I looked at the three girls.

"Thanks for doing this..."

"Our pleasure!" Felicia said as she set the tray down on my lap. A few uncomfortable minutes passed as I ate in silence, not really knowing what to do other than what Azura had told me. Finally, after I had eaten my fill, Felicia took the tray and I gave her a small smile. She grinned back before leaving the room with carefully calculated steps. More uncomfortable seconds passed before I finally spoke up.

"So, is everything...okay? Okay-ish?" Azura stayed silent for a few seconds and Lissa's gaze shifted around my somewhat decorated room.

"Is it at least something close to okay? After what I think just happened, I need something to go off of here, okay?" It seemed that my words had snapped her out of her daze and she looked at me.

"Apologies, I was lost in thought for a moment. Yes, everything went fine. You probably won't be able to move without feeling pain for a while, but you'll be fine in due time." I let out a small sigh, relieved that they were able to make it.

"Thank you. Both of you. I'm really not sure what I'd do if we hadn't met." Azura gave me a sad smile. Why was it sad though? Everything was fine, right?

"Azura?" She looked down for a moment before speaking up again.

"Apologies. I don't mean to bring the mood down. But when I think about it, you'd probably be home." Ah. Right.

"Let's not think about that. Right now, I think we can focus on the good side of things." She gave me a brighter smile with my last remark.

"I agree."


	19. Chapter 19

It was late in the evening and Feh had come back with some orbs. The heroes had made their own policy about when I was permitted to go with them to the battlefield. Only once _all_ of the pain was gone and my health was confirmed by at least two nurses, could I go with them. To be fair, my entire body was still uncomfortably sore and taking steps still hurt, making my chances of survival on the battlefield reasonably low. That being said, I could still walk around and I didn't plan on being useless. I stood with Breidablik in the summoning grounds, having summoned the latest hero as a small thought struck my brain: Did a weapon like Breidablik have a conscious mind? Because if it did, then it has the strangest sense of humor I've ever seen. Standing in front of me was the moody and ever cautious Takumi I had gotten to know so well.

In a swimsuit.

Yes, that's right, a swimsuit. Along with the swimwear, he also sported a new bow that looked to be made of water. All I could do was stare at this confusing sight.

"Well?" His question snapped me out of my thoughts.

"You gonna tell me where I am?"

"Ah, r-right." And so, I gave him the small speech I had perfected summon after summon that explained how the confused hero had gotten there.

"Ah, I see. Well then, it looks like I won't be going back to that island anytime soon, so I guess I'll help you." after saying that, he gave me a smile. I'd be lying if I said that the smile he gave didn't make my heart melt. I suddenly felt protective of him, despite the very odd context that came with his summoning. The Takumi I had summoned earlier had never smiled that wide, so I guess that might be partly to blame.

"Uh, I can take you to your new room if you want…" He gave a grateful nod and trailed behind me as I toured the castle, occasionally refocusing my mind to keep from staring.

"Uh… Summoner?" The voice came from my side, and I turned to see commander Anna with a very confused look on her face.

"That's… Takumi, right?" I nodded, and stepped closer to speak quietly,

"I just summoned him, so if you want me to explain the outfit change, I need to figure that out for myself first." Anna nodded before casting a glance to Takumi.

"Hello there, I'm commander Anna. Glad you could come." Takumi gave another smile before returning to his spot behind me.

"Woah! Who are you?" I knew that voice well, and until now, my mind had been reeling with possibilities of what could happen when these two met. I slowly turned toward the voice and there he was.

Takumi, the original one, was standing in front of me, a look filled with a mix of frustration and confusion.

"Ah, r-right. Takumi, meet… T-Takumi…" I wasn't sure which one I was talking to, allI knew was that I was doing a bad job.

"And why is he wearing… what he's wearing?" The original asked. Thankfully, I didn't have to come up with an answer as Takumi… the beach Takumi, took over.

"Well, being summoned on a tropical vacation isn't something you plan for y'know." Interestingly enough, that seemed to be enough to satisfy the other prince. He huffed once before following behind us, taking his place in the back of a small line of Takumis. I continued the tour, doing my best to pretend that I didn't realize just how absurd this really was. After showing him where the dining hall was, which I could finally navigate to without a guide, I moved in the direction of the empty rooms. Somewhere along the way, the original Takumi had left the group and was later replaced by Feh's presence.

"Is that like your pet or something?" The prince asked, motioning toward the fluffy owl currently perched on my head. Thankful for something to talk about, I made my steps fall in line with his and kept walking beside him.

"Not really. She kinda just showed up. Apparently he came a few hours after I first arrived, and he came with a letter." This version of Takumi seemed a bit more laid-back than his Hoshidan-dressed counterpart. He raised a brow at what I said, seeming genuinely interested in my story.

"What did it say?" I gave him a small smile.

"Well, it didn't have a name, address, or really any indication of who it was from. But inside, there were a few white feathers and a recipe of how to grind them up for a tonic. When I tried it out, I realized there wasn't nearly enough. Of course, Feh didn't just deliver that letter. She kept coming back, sometimes even with whole packages of the feathers. She came with other things too like summoning orbs, which I use to summon heroes like you. Finally, Feh had brought back enough feathers for the tonic. When one of the heroes was willing to give it a try, it had a strange affect." Takumi was listening intently now. Some heroes would tune out at this point, but the ones who did listen always seemed so intrigued.

"They said that after taking the tonic, they suddenly became more alert and their mind worked smoother. Some were even able to wield weapons that they couldn't before. It's pretty useful. Feh kept coming back with more too, and some of the heroes find feathers like that just out in the open. Usually only about five though. Anyway, one day, Feh came with a small letter that actually had writing on it. 'This is Feh. She would like to stay with you, Summoner. Please make sure you treat her well.'" I recited the contents of that short letter I kept in my bedside drawer. I had looked over it several times to see if I could recognize the handwriting, but to no avail.

"So, she's a messenger owl." I stopped myself from nodding, as Feh was still perched on my head, instead just giving a simple "Yup." I reached a gloved hand up to pet the soft feathers on Feh's head, and decided to ask Takumi a question.

"So, you were on a tropical vacation, huh?" Takumi's smile fell for a small second, and he gave a frustrated sigh.

"Yeah. It's upsetting that I have to fight a war here instead." He suddenly looked like he had aged a few years as stress and anger scrawled themselves on his face. Guilt for bringing it up settled nicely in my stomach, and normally I would have gone quiet, but the days I had spent bedridden made me anxious, restless, and easy to set off.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure that no matter what happens, you will get back home. I won't let you overwork or stress yourself out. All I ask is that you lend us your arrows. I'll protect everyone from everything else." He gave me a stern look.

"That's a pretty naive thing to say you know." I stopped in front of an ornate door and turned to face Takumi directly. Feh fluttered down from my head and onto my now outstretched hand. I used my other to wave the hood off my head so that I could look Takumi directly in the eyes.

"Maybe, but setting the bar to impossible heights is what we need to win an impossible war. If setting those kinds of naive expectations is foolish and should be avoided, then we never should have tried fighting this war in the first place." Takumi's smile hadn't returned, but his face showed more content than before. I gave him a smile before opening the door to his new room.


	20. Chapter 20

"Feh… what was that just now? I swear, I sounded like Chrom and Robin's cheesiness combined." As I said this, the only thing Feh offered was a small "Hoo" in response to my self-deprecating complaints.

"Yeah, I know. But that's what he needed to hear, cheesy or not."

"Hoo."

"Oh hush. That was a good line and you know it."

"Hoo."

"...No Feh. The answer is no. I don't think my heart can take more than one of those inspirational speeches."

"Hoo."

"Yeah yeah. I guess I should change into something looser now that it's getting dark." Despite my conversation with a bird I couldn't understand, I got up from my sprawled out position on the bed and made my way to my closet. As I grabbed the T-shirt I had managed to keep somewhat neat, a thought struck my head in the silence.

"Y'know, Feh, some music probably would have been nice right about now. It's so quiet. Too bad I wasn't holding my phone when I was summoned. Then again, I can't imagine how I'd be able to charge it. Do you think phones can run on magic?"

"Hoo."

"Yeah, you're probably right." I slipped off my robe, boots, and gloves first, throwing them on my bed. Underneath, I wore a baggy royal blue shirt whose long sleeves were normally tucked behind tough leather gloves and hidden behind pure, cotton sleeves. Pale pants which were just as baggy hung from my figure, the blue shirt hanging over the waistband. To keep a relative sense of effort in the outfit, a leather midpiece wrapped around my waist with two golden buckles holding it in place. A full-length, ornate mirror which Camilla had given me was secured to the wall, and I looked at my reflection which stared right back at me.

"My hair grew out a lot, huh Feh?" It was true. My hair was now a great deal longer than I remember wearing it when I first came. I ran my fingers through it and when I fingers finally found the ends, too much time had seemed to pass. I huffed once before promising to find out if there was anyone who could give a good haircut. Or not. I'll have to ask the opinion of a few heroes. I slipped off the leather midpiece and placed it with my shirt hung looser now, but I knew the fabric would be too tough to sleep in. Finally, I slipped off my shirt and pants. As I was laying them on my bed, my eyes drifted toward the mirror.

"Feh?"

"Hoo?"

"I… have more scars than I thought I did…" I knew full well about the one that traced the underside of my eye, and it was hard to forget the giant one that ran across my thigh, but there were more, smaller scars that littered several parts of my body. Bruises that were both new and old seemed to be even more frequent, and I could still see the small marks on my wrists where iron handcuffs had injured them.

"Hoo?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just… look…" Different. I couldn't say it out loud. I couldn't bring myself to. I had changed.

"Feh?"

"Hoo?"

"I'm… still me, right? I'm still the Kiran that my friends back home loved, right? I know people here like me but… did I change as a person? I can't tell If I'm still Kiran, or if I changed myself to be the Summoner." A pause before I kept talking.

"I might have changed for the better but… once I get… _if_ I get back home… I don't think I'll ever be able to live the same life I would have. So… am I really still Kiran?"

"Hoo." The little owl made such a small noise, but I could tell Feh understood what I was saying.

"Maybe you're right, Feh." I looked back at my face, with longer hair and a new scar. I sighed and looked back down.

"Maybe you're right."


	21. Chapter 21

"Hellooooo! Anyone here?" I poked my head inside the dining hall to see if any heroes were present. Unfortunately, the hall remained silent and empty.

"Darnit. How can over a hundred legendary heroes just vanish into thin air? Did I do something weird? All I did was sleep…" I gave a small sigh of frustration and closed the door to the dining hall.

"Is it something with Breidablik? It was working fine a few days ago." I pulled out Breidablik from its place on my leather midpiece and examined it.

"It looks fine… and I don't think it would have sent anyone home...would it?" I heaved another sigh and placed it back on my belt.

"Might as well keep looking… there's only so many places for heroes too hide." The clicking of by boots echoed through the hallway, the only sound accompanying it was the sound of early morning birds. I listened to their chirps that were slightly muffled by the closed windows. I approached a window we liked to keep open for the sake of fresh air and stood in the morning light, a few feet from the actual window. It was still a bit chilly from the night, but not nearly as bad as it was when I had first arrived in the middle of autumn. As I stood in the warm light, I shifted my weight to the leg that wasn't constantly sore and folded my arms in front of me. The quiet was nice, but I still missed the presence of heroes in the castle. But that quiet was suddenly interrupted by a large skwak, and a frenzy of flapping wings outside the open window. With a small jump, I dashed a few feet to the window and peeked my head outside.

"What poor bird could have possibly made that noise?" I mumbled to myself, genuinely concerned. I listened for a while, trying to pinpoint the sound of the suffering bird I had heard. After a decent amount of time though, I stepped back from the window.

"It must have already died." I stood straighter and placed my hand on my heart and puffed out my chest, lifting my chin higher in a mock stance of remorse.

"Poor songbird of the morn, for thine songs of jarring skwak and thereafter silence were the only song I heard from thee. Rest well songbird of the morn, rest well." I stifled a snicker and went on my way, the absurdity of what I just did making it harder for me not to laugh. Finally, I burst out in a fit of laughter, alone, in the middle of the hallway.

"Man, the things I say when I'm bored." I flipped my hood off my head and continued on with a smile on my face.

"Kinda sad though. Birds always sing so nice here. Oh well, guess it's just the circle of li-" I cut myself off, my smile falling. Far ahead, there was a corner where one could enter an adjacent hall, a small glimpse of bright blue fabric could be seen disappearing from view. I knew that cape and who it belonged to very well.

"Marth!" I broke into a run, ignoring the increase of pain in my leg as I closed in on where I had seen the cape. When I made it to the corner, I made a sharp turn and continued down the hall despite the fact that I couldn't see or hear Marth anywhere. I kept going, but when I finally made it to the end of the hall where it split into two directions, I froze.

"Where…" My one and only lead was gone. In one big wave of tiredness and frustration, I yelled into the silence of the giant castle.

"Ugh, DARNIT! I WAS SO CLOSE!" My voice carried easily through the halls and echoed back to me and my stressed self. The echoes of my shout were only accompanied by my heavy breaths.

"Where…" I didn't know what to think at this point. They had all deserted the place to parts unknown. Yet another sigh flooded my lungs. I seemed to be doing that a lot today.

"To the library I go." I resumed my intent listening to the clicking of my boots on the tile. It was all I could do at this point. My hood being down allowed my still-too-long hair to lift from my face as I walked with considerable speed, ignoring the leg that still hurt from my run.

"I could have sworn that was Marth…" But he couldn't have disappeared so quickly. A ninja disguised as Marth? Did they steal his cape? Why would they do that? Am I seeing things? As these questions kept coming through my mind, my speed gradually increased until I was walking so fast that my robe had started to billow behind me. I honestly couldn't tell if I was angry or really, really, worried. Maybe both. Probably both. With my speed walking though, I arrived at the library fairly soon. I strode up to the door and swung it open with such speed that it almost kept going and slammed into the wall beside it.

"Hello? Anybody?" My voice didn't echo as well here, but I shouted loud enough for it to carry. And with my shout, came silence in return.

"Heh, kinda like that bird, huh." A dry, emotionless laugh escaped my throat as I recalled the sickly bird from outside the window. I turned around and faced the hall again, pulling the door behind me.

"Thud."

A low, heavy noise sounded from inside the library and made me jump a bit, stopping my exit.

"What was…" I scanned the library for what could have made the noise, and my eyes eventually landed on a book that looked like it had fallen from a shelf.

"How did it…" I strode over to the book on the floor and picked it up.

"'The Westward Garden' Huh." I read the title of the book out loud, and decided to take it with me. Not for any real reason, just because I felt like I should. As I exited the library again, I absentmindedly paced down the hall. My mind was preoccupied with how a book could have fallen at such a perfectly timed moment, and with nobody there to make it fall. My mind drifted back to reality as I suddenly found myself in front of an ornate door with sunlight streaming in from the underside.

"Where even am I? Darnit, I really should mind where I'm going." My hand went up to scratch an itch on my ear, only for me to notice I subconsciously put my hood back over my head.

"Weird. Might as well keep it on though." I pushed open the door to see if there was some sort of clue as to where I was, and in front of me were the gardens that Sharena enjoyed taking me to sometimes. Unfortunately, I still didn't know how to get to familiar territory, meaning I was lost.

"Great. Darn book title made me want to come here. Subconscious stuff really can be annoying." Suddenly, despite the warmer air, a fierce chill ran down my spine and my hand automatically moved to pull my hood down to cover more of my face, a small quirk I had developed when I was around people, especially the more intimidating heroes. I stood perfectly still, waiting to notice whatever gave me such a violent chill. But in the end, nothing came. What could have caused that? The only thing I can think of would be Felicia or Flora. Maybe Fjorm or her siblings?

I breathed a sigh and flipped my hood off again, setting off to wander the castle until I found something familiar to navigate by.


	22. Chapter 22

"It's noon already… I've been looking all day." I sat dejectedly against a wall, my knees pulled into my chest and my book on the floor. After walking for so long, it had gotten hard to ignore the pain in my leg, but I somehow managed to find myself in a part of the castle I hadn't even seen and was now hopelessly lost. I sat on the floor with no other options and waited for the pain to go away. My eyes drifted over to the relatively heavy book I had brought with me, and with nothing to do but wait, I picked it up and started reading.

I had managed to get to about the fifth chapter before I decided to continue my search. It was some sappy story about two lovers who were separated by royal status or something like that. It wasn't that great, so I was a bit disappointed that a book like that was in a royal library.

The day was slipping away, and I was starting to think that I might just have to camp out in a hallway or armory or something. I let out a tired laugh.

"Yeah, like I'd even be able to get to sleep like that. I can hardly sleep in my own bed." I pulled my hood back up over my head and eyes and continued searching.

"Kiran?" I gasped loudly and spun around to face the voice behind me, hoping that I really wasn't just hearing things. Lo and behold, Nailah stood behind me, looking vaguely concerned.

"Nailah! You're here! Yes! You are there, right? Not a trick of the light?" She looked at me confused, and placed a hand on her hip.

"No, I'm very much here. I should be asking where you have been. I've been looking for you all day."

"Look, I'm really sorry, but my entire day was spent looking for everyone. I had no idea where everyone went, and I started to panic, and then really weird stuff happened and this book just fell, I thought I saw Marth, but then he just disappeared then I got lost and I don't know where I am and-" Nailah cut me off by putting a finger up to my mouth.

"Alright, alright. Come, I'll lead you to your room and you can tell me about it then." I smiled and nodded, falling into step beside her.

As we walked, I was unable to tell which way we were going and which way we had been. As soon as anything started to look familiar, the feeling would go away and I was lost once more. I followed her still, not sure what to say or make of this situation. Finally, things started to look familiar all at once as we approached some large doors that I knew led to a generally unused ballroom that, while I had trouble and occasionally took a wrong turn, was able to navigate to. I wasn't able to check the room earlier as I had chased Marth's cape and got lost doing so. Despite the fact that I knew where we were now, I was still confused.

"Uh, this is on the other side of the castle… a pretty good ways away from my room… please tell me you know where we are." I said hesitantly and with audible anxiety rising in my voice. She gave me a smirk.

"Of course. Now, if you please, I think we should go inside." She motioned toward the doors and all kinds of alarm bells went off in my head. I suddenly broke into a sweat, my anxiety getting the best of me and took a few small steps back.

"Ah, y-y'know what? I know where we are now so… Imma just… go back to uh, my room. Yeah." As I spoke, I took more steps back, my hands started to tremble slightly and I picked up my pace.

"Hey, wait! You've been walking all day, correct? You should rest." She advanced about two steps forward and I kept backing up.

"Yeah, well I actually got some rest for a while right before you found me so, I'm uh, I'm good." This time she walked further toward me and kept taking steps forward.

"You really should rest though. Your leg isn't completely healed." She was advancing quicker and I was in too much of a panic from all that had happened today. Survival instincts kicked in and I could feel the rise in adrenaline as she got closer. With all of the strange occurrences, my mind refused to trust her.

"YeahthanksI'mactuallygoodBYE!" With that panicked sentence, I turned on a heel and ran, dropping my book behind me and darted as fast as I could down the halls, the fear in my mind numbing the pain in my leg I knew should be there.

"I didn't want to have to do this…" From behind me, I heard familiar growls and claws scratching the tile growing steadily closer. My stomach lurched as I felt something tug at my clothing and I was lifted sideways by my midsection from the ground. I let out a squeak that I didn't really know I could make until this point and struggled as much as I could, but to no avail. In the end, she carried me by my clothes into the ballroom and I braced myself.

The doors opened and inside was…

"A-Alfonse? Sharena? Anna?" Before me was everyone I had summoned to fight with us along with the Askran trio, all in relatively formal clothing and staring directly at my horizontal form being carried into the room by our latest addition to the team.

"Um… surprise?" Sharena questioned rather than exclaimed, obviously confused as to why I had to be dragged in. I was then let gently to the ground, and when I looked behind me, Nailah stood with another smirk on her face.

"You guys… were here?" They all nodded, some looked concerned and others looked like they were about to break down laughing.

"We wanted to surprise you with a party since you finally summoned two hundred heroes, but…" Kana started, visibly concerned.

"It didn't quite go to exactly as planned." Ike finished. A long silence followed as just about every human emotion that ever existed bombarded me all at once.

"Oh…" It was all I could say. I didn't know how to feel. Angry that they kept me in the dark all day? Relieved they were safe? Grateful? Sad? Loved? Protective? I really didn't know. My hands were trembling again.

"Kiran?" Fae began to walk up to me, a few of the more emotional heroes trailed behind her.

"F-Fae, you-" My voice was cut off by small sob.

"Oh nooo… Kiran? Did we go too far?" Morgan asked from the back of the crowd approaching me. I shook my head.

"N-no, just… you're all here and safe and-" several heroes rushed forward, apologizing for making me worry. They only had to comfort me for a minute until I was able to calm down, my mind finally settling on the feeling of relief.

"Thanks guys. How were you even able to stay hidden for so long?" Alfonse let out a nervous chuckle.

"You almost caught us a few times actually. We were in here most of the time and we were actually ready for a while before you actually came. When you walked my earlier, we had Kaze and Kana keep an eye on you near the entrance of the hall that led here." Alfonse gestured to the ninja and dragon.

"That awful skwak was Kana's attempt at a signal for me to lead you away. It looked like you mistook her for a dying bird, but I suppose that went okay." Kaze explained with a slightly amused look on his face. Kana only giggled.

"Okay… and Marth?" I turned to the hero king, waiting for an answer. He only gave a confused look.

"That was my doing. I asked to borrow his cape to lure you away from the ballroom. He was the one who had the brightest color so it seemed suitable." Legault said, stepping forward. Marth wore a look of realization on his face as Legault spoke. I nodded.

"Okay, the book?" Lewyn spoke up this time.

"I was told to delay you, and using magic to make a book fall from a distance was fairly easy." I gave another nod, realizing all those strange occurrences were the heroes trying to delay me.

"Yeah, Flora and Felicia were stationed in the gardens, while Kagero followed you around and reported back every once and a while. She ended up losing you when going back for a report but we were ready by that point. Of course, when you took too long to come back, we sent Nailah to look for you." Sharena continued.

"Indeed. It took quite a while to find you too. You really were lost." Nailah said, rather amused. I let out a nervous laugh and looked at the floor. We were interrupted, however by a growling sound coming from none other than myself.

"Oh yeah… I skipped a few meals today, huh?" I mumbled sheepishly. Camilla, who had originally shown up to comfort me placed a hand behind my back and urged me forward to a table of food they had set up.

"Well dear, that simply won't do. You need to eat. And please, by all means don't be shy. We're here today because of you after all!" She gave me a sweet smile and handed me a plate that she seemed to grab from thin air.

"Uh, th-thanks, Camilla."


	23. Chapter 23

"Alright, Kiran. It's time." I turned around to look from the work on my desk to whoever addressed me, and was surprised to find Hector, Effie, and Lon'qu standing there. Hector smirked and looked proud of himself. His chest was puffed out and he had somehow folded his arms in front of him despite obviously bulky armor.

"Uh… time for what exactly?" Lon'qu spoke up this time.

"We have decided that in order to give you a better chance in the battlefield, you should at least learn basic self defense." Oh. Oh no. A feeling of mild dread washed over me. While it was true that I had completely healed and could now join the heroes on the battlefield, I was trying my best to avoid bringing this topic up. I saw the heroes wielding incredible weapons and told myself that if they ever offered to train me, then I should decline, as it was likely they would train me past my capabilities. After all, nothing like this was ever needed where I was from. We had other, less direct, ways of combat. Granted, there were things like martial arts, but the last class I had taken in that was when I was too young to remember anything useful.

"Uh, y'know what? I've gotten pretty good at dodging since I got here, so I think I'll be fine. Besides, I seriously doubt I can lift anything heavier than a few tomes so… yeah, I'll just-"

"This is not something you can argue in, Summoner. We've decided that this is the best way to make sure everyone stays safe." Effire said, her voice firm and unwavering.

"I… really don't have a choice?" All three shook their heads and motioned for me to follow them. Effie and Hector made their way out of my study while Lon'qu stayed behind to make sure I followed. And reluctantly, I did.

"Well, Summoner, let's begin!" Hector said from inside the training room as soon as we arrived. I had been here quite a few times, especially when it came to new arrivals, but never had I been here and felt so afraid. That is, except for that one time I came and a sword came flying at me and nearly decapitated me, but that was a different story. In the room, a few other heroes had gathered. This was obviously a group decision. There was absolutely no way I was getting out of this.

"Let's start with some laps around the training grounds. Come on." and with that, everyone in the room started running with me. Probably for encouragement.

"Come on! Run like your life depends on it!" This was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Kiran? Are you feeling unwell?" Alfonse approached me in the dining hall. I was hungry, but after the workout I just had, eating proved to be difficult. Instead, I sat with my head on the table and my plate in front of me, still filled with food.

"I've never been more sore in my entire life." I mumbled from my face-down position. Alfonse sat next to me, somewhat worried and somewhat amused.

"Ah, right. I remember some of the heroes had been talking about helping you train. I thought it was a good idea, but it looks like you'll be out of commission again today."

"Mph." I mumbled.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that." I lifted my head to look at Alfonse, my body aching all the while.

"Nobody should ever have to run that many laps." I put my head back down and grumbled more incomprehensible complaints. Alfonse placed a hand on my back. He probably didn't know what to do to comfort me.

* * *

"Alright, Kiran. Time for round two!" I gave Hector a look that was some mixture of hatred and desperation.

"Aw, don't give me that look. I know you can do it! You said people from your world could get pretty strong, right? Well this is your chance to get on that level!" Had I seriously said that? If I did, that had to have been months ago before I knew just how strong these heroes were.

"Hector, those people get strong because they've dedicated their entire lives to getting stronger. But even those people pale in comparison to what all of you do. People from my world who are that strong really are one in a million. We didn't have to do anything like this back then. Sorry Hector, but I really don't think I can be as strong as you need me to be." Somehow, it looked like he had been expecting a response like that.

"But who said you couldn't improve? That's all we ask of you. Besides, it doesn't take physical strength to cast spells. I know you're really sore, so we decided to tone it down today." I smiled and painfully stood from my chair.

"There were only two heroes who had time to teach you how to cast better spells, but I'm sure you'll do fine."

"What do you mean by 'better'?" Did he think I already knew how to cast spells?

"Surely they taught you basic spells in your world."

"Uh, you know, I m actually having second-"

"Nope. You're not getting out of this one. I know attacking with spells seems hard, but I believe you can do it!"

"No, Hector, that's not the problem. You see-"

"Oh legendary Summoner! There you are!" A familiar eccentric voice sounded from in front of the training room. Odin stood by with Ophelia by his side.

"Come! We shall begin immediately!" Ophelia posed dramatically before rushing inside the training room along with Odin. Hector pushed me along and ignored my protesting. A tome that was quite heavy was placed in my arms by Ophelia while Odin and Hector stood to the side.

"Alright! Now, the best way to learn how do use more complex spells is to reach inside yourself and sense the power within. To draw out that power, it is necessary to truly feel as if you are in the heat of battle. For this, Hector and I shall act as your foes. Deflect us as best you can, and don't hold back! We made sure that one proficient in the arts of restoring and re-"

"I'll be sitting over here in case you need me." Lucius interrupted Odin from the sidelines, staff in hand.

"Yes well, uh, begin!" And with that, chaos ensued. Ophelia stood at my side with Mistilteinn, ready to help if needed.

"Ophelia, I-I don't-"

"I believe in you! You can do this!" She was not any help, and I was in too much of a panic to think rationally. But as Ophelia turned to offer words of encouragement, she began to prepare what looked like a powerful spell, and in her focused preparation, failed to notice the large blur hurtling towards her, as well as the magic light gaining form in front of me. With adrenaline coursing through my veins, my mind didn't process what it could possibly be, and the fact that we were only training left my mind. All I could think of was protecting Ophelia. And so, without thinking and in one fluid motion, I threw the book as hard as I could at the figure, unclipped Breidablik from my belt, aimed, and used its energy to cancel out the spell that was nearly ready.

And with that, everything froze. Ophelia had stopped preparing her spell, and Odin looked at me stunned. I was quivering and breathing heavily, and slowly realizing what I did. Turning around swiftly, I looked at Hector who's head had been thrown back and tipped him over at the weight of the tome. He had only fallen onto his behind rather than his back and rubbed his face, a faint bruise was starting to form where the corner of the tome had slammed into his jaw. Lucius didn't need to intervene, but he did so anyway, and his staff lit up with healing light.

"That's uh, quite a throw you've got there." Hector said, obviously not sure how to respond.

"Ah, s...sorry." Meanwhile, Odin and Ophelia had gone silent.

"What… just happened?" Odin finally asked after moments of very uncomfortable silence.

"...I panicked." I honestly didn't know what else to say. After all, that's what happened.

"Well yes, but why didn't you just use a spell? That particular tome has all of the basics." Odin seemed confused.

"Like I've been trying to tell you guys, they don't have that kind of thing in my world. Like, at all. Nothing. Nada. No magic. You'd have to teach me everything starting from the very beginning. It's not like Breidablik, which actually looks a lot like a tool back in my world. It's something completely new to me." All four heroes nodded, now understanding why I had protested so heavily.

"But Summoner, if I may, how did you stop my father's spell from being cast?" Ophelia questioned. That was something I did know about.

"Well, Breidablik can summon heroes, but it also lives up to being called a 'Divine Weapon'. It fires projectiles, but they really don't do much. I discovered that it could cancel out certain spells it I aim it right when I got caught in a skirmish on the battlefield. Since I don't fight though, I decided it was better to not rely on that and rely more on dodging." The four nodded and Hector had risen from the floor, bruise now completely gone.

"Well then, that just means we'll have to teach you the basics. Odin? Ophelia?" Hector turned toward the two and their faces lit up.

"Do not fret dear Summoner! We will ensure that you have the skill to rival even the best heroes in this very castle!" Odin shouted while striking a pose.

"Indeed! Even the stars will feel the true power of our legendary Summoner, thanks to the unrivaled instruction of-" Ophelia was cut off by Lucius.

"How about we get started. I believe the sooner, the better."


	24. Chapter 24

It was so dark. What happened? Why was I here? Where even was I? I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't move. All I could do was watch. All I could do was wait.

Suddenly, in the middle of the dark haze, a blurry shape solidified. I knew what it was too. It was a person. I felt like I had seen them before. But where? I knew their face. It felt like it had been a long time since I had seen it.

And suddenly, it clicked. That was one of my best friends that I had known for years. They were the one I would go to for advice, to vent, to cry, to laugh. Everything. We did absolutely everything together. They stood there with a smile on their face, which caused me to smile with them.

"It's been so long, Kiran! Where did you even go? We were worried, so don't run off like that again." They came up to me and put their arm around my shoulder, a lighthearted chuckle making its way into their voice. They then grabbed my hand and led me into a growing light in the distance of the void. I could move now, and my tennis shoes started to squeak as I struggled to keep up with them. The place started to feel cold, and a now present breeze made it a bit worse. I let out a shiver, wishing I had some kind of coat or robe instead on the T-shirt and jeans I was wearing.

"Hey, where are we going?" I called out, still being dragged along by my friend.

"Uh, home duh. Where else?" For some reason, as the words left their mouth, the light they were leading me to got brighter. As we kept running, it grew faster and faster until my vision was completely engulfed in blinding light.

I stopped feeling the tug on my arm and therefore slowed my steps, and the light dissolved with my speed and I found myself in a room that looked familiar. I spotted a laptop sitting open on a bed covered in blankets and crumbs from some half-eaten toast on a paper plate.

"Here. You can go and relax if you want. I'll go get everyone else." This time, I grabbed my friend's arm and stopped them in their tracks.

"Wait. Get who else? And seriously, where are we? I feel like I should know, but…" I felt uneasy, like there was something I was forgetting but couldn't remember no matter how hard I tried. My friend let out an exasperated sigh.

"Wow, you really are out of it. This is your room. Maybe I should wait until you're okay before I get everyone else. You've got a lot of people that were worried about you, you know. I'm still worried actually. You really don't remember your own room?" I looked around the room once again, and the memories came flooding back.

"It's Saturday, right?" I looked at my friend who started to look relieved at my question.

"Yeah! Phew. Looks like you're not all gone then. I'm really glad you're home, you know that?" They laughed as I let out an empty chuckle. I had remembered, but I still felt like there's something else.

"I feel like I have to be somewhere right now..." I mumbled, almost inaudible. My friend's relaxed expression suddenly turned serious and a shadow was cast over their features.

"No. You don't. You need to be here." I really felt uneasy now. My hand reached up to flip up my hood, but only caught empty space. Why did I do that? I don't wear jackets inside after all…

"You can relax now, Kiran. You're in your room safe from everything else." a familiar sense of dread settled in my stomach. It felt so familiar, and I held onto that.

"N-no. There's somewhere I need to be. I-I need to make sure everyone is safe…" My friend grabbed my shoulder, freezing me in place. Dread continued to fill my thoughts and I held onto the increasing sense of familiarity. I protested loudly and with a shaking voice.

"No. No! I-I need to go home!" where was I even talking about? We were in my room right now!

"You are home, Kiran. All you need to do is stay here. You should just leave all those other fantasies behind and stay here. You'd replace me, and for what? Some clueless prince and princess?" And all at once, it came flooding back. The war, Alfonse, Sharena, Anna, the heroes, Askr, everything.

"I need to go home and protect everyone! I am not going to stay here!" I shouted in their face, making them even more angry.

"Why you- Kiran!" I tore myself from their grasp and ran away, back into the void behind me. I ran as fast as I could. Faster and faster, I had to get back! I suddenly felt someone grab the back of my shirt, making me fall backwards, and just as I was about to hit the floor, another dark haze flooded my vision. I was laying down in a mess of sheets. Or was I? The haze seemed to come and leave over and over again, sometimes my vision saw the rage-filled face of my friend, and sometimes saw a dark, familiar room. I tried my best to focus on the image of the room which looked much more like my vision of home than whatever that friend had showed me.

And slowly but surely, the seething face of my old friend faded away from my sight. I sat up from my position laying in a messied nest of blankets. As I sat up, the long-sleeved shirt of Askran white that Oboro had made for me to sleep in hung loosely over me, keeping some of the warmth I had built up in the blankets around me. Still, even with the warm, thick cotton shirt, I shivered. I scanned the room and found everything exactly like I had put it, including my white and gold robe, which still had to cleaned after its last tumble in the dirt during our last battle. I stood up from my bed, and grabbed it from its place on the table which several heroes had collaborated to build for me.

After putting it on, I noticed how dark it was in the room despite the curtains being open. It was still night, maybe two in the morning based on how cold the glass was. I made sure my socks were on before venturing into the hall, being careful to stay quiet. After my room switch, I wasn't by Alfonse's room anymore, but rather Anna's. Unfortunately however, she was an even lighter sleeper. Even so, I wanted to make sure I really was home and not in some illusion with whoever that "friend" was. When I finally made my way out of the hallway with all the rooms in it, I let myself relax and listen to my own strained voice.

"It's alright. You're fine. It was probably just a dream and not some weird magic thing. You're home, Kiran. You can relax." These whispers of mine continued on as I followed my practiced route to somewhere warm. Time flied and I was suddenly at the large doors of the library, pushing them open like I had hundreds of times before. Now, heroes were generally not allowed in the library without permission, but there wasn't anyone guarding it, so if someone were to sneak in, it was pretty likely they wouldn't be caught. Still, it was rare that anyone would take advantage of this. Thanks to this rule, I was very surprised when I saw the grey hair of a prickly prince poking up from behind a chair.

"Takumi?" When he looked at me from his hiding spot, I was again surprised as a smaller, green haired head poke out from behind a similar looking char right next to Takumi's.

"Kiran? What are you doing here?" Tiki seemed rightfully surprised at my sudden appearance.

"I uh… woke up…?" what else could I say? I was too busy being thankful for the assurance that the heroes were safe and I was still with them.

"Nightmares?" Takumi asked, standing from his chair. I noticed he was still wearing the Askran pajamas that the order had given to all of the heroes. It looked similar to mine, but the shirt was made from a lighter cotton, as Oboro knew I had trouble with cold nights. In a similar attire was Tiki who had put down a book she was holding. I nodded at his previous question and Takumi set his own book down and grabbed another chair, placing it by the fireplace they had been by.

"Want to join us?" I gave him a smile and sat down in the chair he pulled up. I noticed they had a few books pulled from the shelves all piled up in the middle of our circle of chairs. There was a good number of fictional stories, and even more history books. I picked up one of the fiction books that I was only mostly sure I hadn't read yet and flipped to the first page.

"So, you have nightmares too?" Tiki's voice suddenly broke the silence and I looked up at her.

"Yeah. I guess it's like that for you guys too?" She and Takumi nodded, now both looking up from their books.

"This is actually the second time we've met up during the night. The first time, we made a sort of club for whoever might join us." Takumi said, his tired eyes meeting mine.

"So, like a book club?" I asked in a half-joking manner. Takumi let out a dry laugh and Tiki giggled quietly.

"Yeah. Something like that. So, I knew that you came here at night before you had a fireplace in your room, but do you still do that?" The prince asked, looking genuinely curious.

"Yeah… the nightmares are kind new though. Somehow, I haven't had one that actually woke me up until now. I mean, they were still there, but I think tonight was probably the worst one so far. Otherwise, I just come here to clear my head or make me feel relaxed if I can't sleep. I guess I just got too used to coming here before the room switch that it got hard to sleep without coming here." I chuckled at my own instability and looked at my book. _Still Waters_ was the title.

"I see. Well then maybe we can meet up here and help each other out if we can't sleep. It's way better than if we keep it to ourselves." Tiki offered in a hopeful voice. I gave her a smile and a nod.

"Yeah, that would be nice." After a bit more idle chatting, we got back to our books. As I read, I realized that I had, in fact, read this particular book before. I sighed and put the book back, standing to find another. I finally settled on one called _Poems of a Dying Man: A Collection of Memoirs._ When I sat back down, Takumi laughed.

"Already read it, huh? Just how many books have you read in here?" I looked around, trying to remember where I had left off with my last visit.

"Uh, I don't know. Maybe like a ninth of these?" Takumi widened his eyes.

"Wow. That's a pretty good amount." Tiki then chimed in to our conversation.

"Yeah! Especially when you see how many books there are." I tilted my head down and hid my embarrassed eyes with the edge of my hood.

"Hey, no need to be embarrassed. Books are a good way to distract you from nightmares…" A silence fell over the three of us.

"Kiran? What are your nightmares like? In mine, I turn into a huge monster and attack all my friends…" There was a break in the conversation with Tiki's question.

"I have a lot of nightmares about Hoshido… and my family…" Takumi suddenly looked more tired than he had been.

"I… I dreamed that I had gone back to my own world… " Both looked surprised at what I said.

"Wait… why would that be a bad thing?" Takumi asked, confused. Tiki looked more concerned than anything else.

"Well, I dunno. I guess after almost a year of being here and after going through so much with everyone else, I guess this place feels more like home than my actual home does. I guess almost dying a bunch of times with others by your side gets you a lot closer than you would be in a pretty peaceful life like the one I had back in my own world." I clutched the book I held tighter, like it was some kind of lifeline.

"It just feels wrong to leave a place like this when I feel like I have a bigger and more real family here than I thought was possible. At the same time though… " I paused, trying to gather my words. Finally I formed a sad smile and sighed, giving up on my previous thought.

"I guess I just have a really big family, both here and back in my world. Thanks for letting me talk about this too. It feels nice to get it off my chest."

"Of course! And remember if you ever need anything, just let us know. You're family to us as well." Tiki said with a brightened smile. Takumi nodded in agreement.

"Same goes to you guys, okay? I want to be here if you ever need me, and don't you dare think you're ever being a bother." I said it in a lightly scolding manner, but a friendly smile was plastered on my face and revealed my lightheartedness. The pair of heroes smiled and nodded. For the rest of the night, Tiki, Takumi, and I filled the night with chatter and laughter. When we became tired, we all nodded off to the comments we made about our own books sitting open on our laps, ready for a dreamless night in each other's company until the sun rose only a few hours later.


	25. Chapter 25

"Okay, what did you bring me here for?" Alfonse looked slightly annoyed, which was in great contrast to his sister Sharena, who was practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"I told you already! We're here to see the progress Kiran has made in their training!" I was sitting on a small bench and looked up from the cheap-looking tome in my hands.

"Oh, hey Sharena. Alfonse. What's up?" Alfonse gave an exasperated sigh and straightened his back.

"We apparently came to check on your training progress. Are you finding it easier?" I nodded at his question and held up the tome.

"I decided to start with the very basics, but it turns out that wielding magic is a lot like using Breidablik. Only I can't summon heroes with it of course. I'm trying to get out of the habit of using Breidablik to cancel out spells and using the tome to counter them instead, but it's a little hard. Reflexes, you know?" Sharena smiled at me in an encouraging way. Alfonse smiled too, but it seemed forced. Maybe he was having a bad day.

Before anyone else could say anything, Odin and Ophelia approached us and struck some poses that looked hard to hold.

"Indeed, although our dear Summoner is still but a student, their instincts still drive them to fight!" Ophelia declared.

"Yes, but fear not! For the time is nigh. Our student has made astounding progress in harnessing the very energy that drives this land! And henceforth, we, as the masters of this sacred art, shall display the true greatness of our teachings!" Odin struck another pose as he shouted this. I looked to the Askran royals. Alfonse tried to keep a neutral face, but his brow was furrowed which gave away his lack of understanding. Meanwhile, Sharena did nothing to hide her confused expression, and looked to me for help.

"He wants me to show you guys what I learned so far." The siblings relaxed their expressions in realization, and Sharena became excited again.

"So, what can you do?!" I laughed nervously at her excitement.

"Not much actually. There isn't any magic in the world I'm from, so I had to start from scratch. Funny story actually, in order to help me learn through instinct, they put a tome in my hands and started attacking. I ended up bruising Hector's jaw by throwing the tome." I said, trying to hold in my laughter. It was more funny now that some time had passed. Alfonse cleared his throat and tilted his head down, but I could tell he was trying not to laugh. Sharena had let out a snort and begged for details.

"Yeah, I panicked a bit. They pretty much assumed that I at least knew the bare minimum."

"In any case!" Odin interrupted, looking eager to move on.

"To truly see the progress you have made, we will be trying that same tactic we used on your very first day." As he said that, I grew more uneasy.

"Uh, Odin? Are you sure that's a good idea? I really am still learning the basics." He didn't even flinch as I protested.

"Don't worry. I made them prepare spells that are weak enough for you to counter without anything going horribly wrong." Hector entered the room, looking eager.

"And I won't be in the fray this time. You didn't seem too keen on that before." Hector proclaimed with a hearty grin. I laughed uncomfortably and looked around for Lucius, or really any healer that could help my predicament.

"Relax, Summoner. I will be assisting you like last time. By the power of the stars, I swear you will not be injured." Ophelia relaxed out of her dramatic pose and gave me an encouraging smile.

"Thanks, Ophelia. Well, I guess I don't really have a choice, so let's do this." I stood from my seat and made sure my steps were as carefully calculated as they could be, hoping that maybe if I wasted time, then I wouldn't have to do it. When I arrived in the center of the room, I took deep breaths. The same breaths I always took before the start of a battle. I stood in a stable stance Hector had taught me and readied myself.

"O-okay… I think I'm ready…" Truth be told, I hadn't actually applied what I lad learned in a way like this. The fact that Alfonse and Sharena were watching made me even more nervous. Ophelia stood near me, and we faced the room back-to-back.

"Alright, let the lesson begin!" Odin readied a spell like he had last time, and I resisted the urge to unclasp Breidablik from my belt. Instead, I turned my attention to the tome in my hands and what I could remember of its contents. Remembering on the fly was one thing, but actually channeling the magic was another. I tried to think of it like firing Breidablik, but while it felt similar, it was quite obviously different. For the sake of making them think I was picking this up with relative ease though, I would talk as if I truly understood what I was to do.

I sharpened my focus and tried to grasp for the feeling that I felt when magic was nearby. I had lived in a world absent of such energy, which made its presence easy to detect. It was similar to noise sounding louder when one had been in a quiet room for a long time. At the same time though, it made it that much more unnerving. I found the feeling that I had been searching for, and immediately concentrated energy gathered in my hand. Okay, I had made it this far. Just keep your focus, Kiran. I had to aim for Odin's spell. Splitting my attention, I searched the room and spotted the glow of his spell.

Unfortunately, he had finished preparing it faster than I had anticipated and it was already coming towards us. From months and months of countless battles, my reflexes kicked in. Of course, that was something I had wanted to avoid. I didn't fight, but I was better than dodging than probably anyone in the army, only because I relied on my adrenaline rushes and instinct to move out of the way or drag a hero away from an attack if they were close enough. In an unexpected flash of blind determination to protect the hero next to me, I forgot where I was and my body temperature seemed to drop. I shivered with a mix of adrenaline and cold. I didn't even think why I felt so cold, but it didn't matter now. I had to help Ophelia.

I could sense the magic from our attacker, as well as a foreign magic I had not seen, but felt familiar somehow. I moved in one swift motion, shoving Ophelia out of the range of the spell and throwing my hand up to intercept it. I couldn't see because of the blinding light that had followed my actions. I could sense that the magic of our attacker however, was overcome by whatever foreign energy that had made me feel so cold. I could hear a strange crackling as well, but other than that, silence. I stood still until the light cleared and the spots in my vision were gone. In front of me were spikes of ice that protruded from the floor up to the height of about my knees. A light frost had covered the surrounding area, as well as the entire lining of my glove and the edge of my hood. I was still trembling.

My eyes drifted up to our attacker… no… to Odin who stood shivering as well, but also in shock. He was covered in a light layer of frost as well. In my daze, I didn't notice the hand slowly touching my shoulder, followed by a soft voice.

"... Kiran?" I jumped at the noise and the sudden presence behind me, and I heard the shuffling of armor.

"Kiran, you need to calm down. We're only in the training room." That voice was deeper… Alfonse? Wait, what did he say? Training room… oh. Darnit. I took a gasping breath that I hadn't realized I had been holding and lowered my hand.

"Kiran, It's fine, it's just me… I'm coming closer, okay?" I saw Odin's lips move when the voice came, but it sounded far away. All at once, the adrenaline rush was gone, and I was left in the middle of a mess. I felt light-headed, but I made sure to stay upright. I had to figure out what on earth just happened.

"Are you okay? That was a lot of magic, you know. Is Kiran going to be okay?" I recognized Sharena.

"They'll be fine. I think that was just a lot of energy they weren't used to. Come on, let's get them to a bench." Alfonse again.

"Are you sure? They're not responding to anything." That was Ophelia. She was okay. Thank goodness.

… Wait. What am I saying? Of course she's okay! That wasn't even real for goodness sake! What happened?! What did I do this time?!

"Someone get a healer! I really think we need to do something."

"Ophelia, the last thing Kiran needs right now is even more magic. I don't think they can take that much like we can. Remember why they couldn't cast spells?" The voice of Odin was firm, but it was starting to feel farther now.

"Well then what do we do?" The voice was female, but not Ophelia's. Sharena? Maybe.

"... We need to wait it out. In the meantime, we need to think of a way for Kiran to get used to such high energy." Another voice. It was male, but who? I could hardly hear it and the world looked like it had some kind of film over it. I couldn't move anymore, but my mind stayed awake. I felt like I wan't in my own skin, but nevertheless, I listened to the conversation happening near me.

"I didn't even know it was possible for someone to overload their bodies like that."

"Well, until now, it hadn't really happened. We don't even know if that's what went wrong. That's all I can think of though. There's no magic in their world after all. It makes sense that even after months of being here, Kiran still wouldn't be conditioned to high concentrations of magic."

"Yeah… are you sure Kiran is okay?" there was a break in the conversation, and my mind wandered to the thought of whether or not I should keep trying to train after this.

"Yes. Our Summoner has survived a lot. They'll make it through a little more." I think they laid me down on the bench, because all I saw now was the ceiling through my unfocused eyes, and the blurs of barely recognizable faces had gone away. I heard a shuffling and echoing clicks that sounded like footsteps.

"Hey, what happened here?" The voice was harsh, but still panicked.

"Oh no, is Kiran okay?" This one was harder to understand, as it was more frantic and high-pitched. Both of them sounded familiar and reminded me of the library for some reason.

"They're fine. Just shock from a lot of magic."

"Someone used magic on them?"

"No, well yes, but that's not what caused it. Kiran panicked again and used a powerful spell that they hadn't learned yet. The frost hasn't melted completely yet. They'll be fine though." There was another pause.

"I'll go get some medicine. Takumi, you stay here and watch Kiran, okay?" The higher pitched voice said.

"Right. Make sure to hurry, okay Tiki?" Ah, that's who they are. I heard what I assumed was a door opening and closing, followed by silence. The conversation seemed to have died.

"I'll help with training for now, okay? Before we even try to have Kiran spar, we need to address something more important."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Kiran told me about it. I've seen it happen to people before, but there's a name for it in Kiran's world. Acute stress disorder I think. They called it ASD. I did some reading in the library and I know Kiran has been more jumpy lately. It was just a training session, right? They seem to panic even more than they used to. Now, I could be wrong, but I think we should keep an eye on them. If it gets worse, we'll need to do something about it. Kiran can't keep doing this. They've been so jumpy. There's also the.. " The voice cut off.

"The what, Takumi?"

"... The nightmares. Apparently they're new." Silence again.

"For how long? Do you know?"

"They started showing up in the library a few weeks ago. We would read and talk about nightmares we had that night. They only came when they had a nightmare, so I know how often they actually happened. Only once the first week, then twice the second. Four times during the third week and every day so far this week. So total… that's eleven so far."

"... We should hold off on training for a while. Kiran needs to rest." Rest did sound nice right now. Unfortunately, I knew my body would not let me. For now, I was stuck in an immobile state of shock.

* * *

 **Hey guys. Sorry for the late chapter. Its testing season where I am so things have been hectic. Thankfully though, summer is almost here. Until then, updates may be a bit sparratic. Until then, thanks for reading, and for all of your amazing comments. I try to take each one to heart, so if you have anything you want to tell me, please do not hesitate! Have a lovely day.**


	26. Author's Note

**Hey guys. Author here. So, I decided to write this message to warn you guys about upcoming updates. The end of the school year is coming, so it will not be long until I can update regularly. Until then however, I am going to put my stories on a temporary and rather short hiatus. In the meantime, I will be writing the chapters to be the best they can be so that it will hopefully be worth the wait. Thank you for understanding and for your patience while I get my life together.**

 **Have a lovely day**

 **-TheIncapableHero**


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